All language subtitles for tommy_cooper_2024_the_lost_tapes

The unbelievable Tommy Cooper, ladies
and gentlemen.

I went across the barber shop. I said,
how much a haircut? He said, 76.

I said, how much a shave? He said, two
barbers. I said, shave my head.

He said to me, he said to me, I have to
finish shaving you. What do you want on

your face?

I said, leave the notes.

For over seven decades, we've been
laughing at the mayhem he created.

Tommy Cooper, Britain's best -loved
comedy star of all time.

The comedian, comedian.

So I was out at this airport.

And a man said to me, would you mind
sharing a text with me? I said, yes.

He said, you check the wheels, I'll
check the engine.

And now, in a special programme, a
chance to enjoy some of Tommy's

previously unseen by British viewers.

Are you in there? Yes, I am.

Including newly discovered footage from
shows never aired in the UK.

Tonight, presenting Tommy Cooper!

There are performances that were never
seen by a national audience.

And there's rare footage that has
remained undisturbed in

archive vaults since its original
transmission.

You'll see some of Tommy's finest work
performed as it was originally intended

to be seen, unedited and in its
entirety.

featuring revelations and reflections
from those who worked with him.

I can always tell whether an audience is
going to be good or bad.

Good night.

And those who revere his unique comic
mastery.

This is Tommy Cooper Unthemed.

Tommy Cooper.

He was one of the biggest stars of the
20th century, his colossal popularity

crossing all generations and social
classes.

A comic magician with a universal
appeal.

Tommy was genuine.

He was a total original.

He was loved.

People loved him.

Because, let's face it, he was very,
very funny.

What's a power note?

I thought it was a heart.

I think he had joy encoded into his DNA.

The thing about Tommy Cooper is he's
like someone who's been sent in from

another planet and here he is on Earth
and he's got the fares.

How did he get the Fez, you know? His
hair out to the side. The Fez, the whole

thing, screamed comedy.

A pack of cards.

I did this very, very closely.

It took me 15 long years to do this
trick. 15 long years.

I should spread them like that all the
way along there.

Like that. And I should catch them like
that.

It looks good.

15 years it took me to do this.

All the way along there like that.

Or it may go that way, I don't know.

I got up laughing. I know what's coming
next.

50 years wasted.

We lapped it up. Every nuance, every
grimace, every wide -eyed look to camera

the audience.

Jar, spoon, spoon jar.

His looks were wonderful

That nervous laugh, followed by that
maniacal cackle.

Everything he did was to make people
laugh, and by

God, laugh they did.

He was hilariously funny.

I can't ride it. It's got a flat tyre.

You felt this was being made up as he
went along.

What's next?

And then when you looked more closely,
you realised this is all

planned.

A solid one.

After that, make this wall disappear in
front of your very eyes.

Just wrap it in a peg line. He created a
kind of... Chaotic atmosphere.

And you think, this isn't going to work
at all.

And out of it, he produced the finest
comedy.

Nothing was wasted in his act. He'd go
to do the trick and then another joke

would come in. That's about half,
brother.

And then he'd do part of the trick and
then another joke would come in.

And every movement, everything was
considered. It was so densely packed

humour.

Nothing is funnier than things going
wrong.

And that was the whole act, was built on
things going wrong and pretending that

they have gone wrong.

I

loved

it, that look of bafflement,
bewilderment when a trick went wrong.

and shock when a trick went right.

Two handkerchiefs knotted together like
that. Empty bag.

Right?

I place a lot of handkerchiefs together
like that, and I go... Thank

you.

The thing about Tommy is there is a
great skill in the magic that he's

Yes,

the tricks are going wrong, but you have
to be able to set up the tricks.

You have to lead the audience down the
garden path before you pull the rug out

from under them. And I think that's his
great skill.

Just take a card, sir. Hold that card
very tightly in your hand, right?

And don't let it go.

He always managed to make you think that
this is going to go one way, and in

fact, hilariously, it ended up doing
something else.

The seeming chaos which produced

absolute brilliance.

Now the glass becomes the bottle, and
the bottle becomes the glass.

You reached all ages with it.

So I would have been watching it aged
eight, nine.

You know, my parents in their thirties.
But also grannies would love it. And I

think if you've got that broad canvas of
generational appeal.

Oh, that's some gold dust.

That's it.

Coming up... Will you welcome, please,
England's favourite comedian, Mr Tommy

Cooper. David Frost brings Tommy's
talent to American viewers in footage

seen in Britain before.

David Frost, Britain's biggest
television star of the 60s. By the end

decade, he was so successful, he
conquered American television too.

Each week, he would commute to New York
to host his own nightly talk show.

The David Frost show was Dad's first
huge...

show and platform in the United States,
1969 to 1972, for three years, 50

weeks a year and five shows a week.

The guest list of The David Frost Show,
I think, was the peak of Dad's career.

It was second to none. Sometimes it
would be a full 90 minutes with very

conversation. Other times it would be
superstars of music, comedy or film.

These shows never aired in Britain.

But Frost occasionally delighted in
welcoming British guests, including a

favourite entertainer from back home
he'd loved for years.

Will you welcome, please, England's
favourite comedian, Mr Tommy Cooper.

Dad adored Tommy Cooper. There's no
doubt about it. I mean, he'd talk about

Tommy very often. Not so much to retell
Tommy's jokes, but to reminisce what a

brilliant comedian he was. He thought of
Tommy incredibly highly.

Bit of juggling, I'm going to get that
in there.

I think Dad was drawn to a number of
things.

Partly the silliness of the joke, but I
think he was also drawn to anything that

was unique and fresh and had an element
of performance in it, because that was

everything that Dad was about.

A bit of ventriloquism now.

Keep your eyes on the lips all the time.
On the lips.

Are you in there?

Yes, I am.

When I watch back those clips with Tommy
and Dad there in the background,

there's a sort of purity to the Tommy
Cooper humour, which is, it's not

sophisticated, but it's very funny.

Here's a little trick. Now, the
vanishing cigar.

Watch it very, very closely. You've got
a handkerchief here like this.

There like that. The vanishing cigar.

Cover it with a handkerchief.

The American studio audience was
initially unsure what to make of Tommy's

But, as can be seen from his performance
shown here in its entirety, he soon

wins them over.

I'd like to show you now for me. This is
not my trick. I saw another magician do

this. No, not that.

All he did was this, look. He got a red
handkerchief like that, you see.

And then he placed it into his left hand
like this.

And I want you to watch me very closely.

And if you see any suspicious moves,
don't say anything.

He placed it right down his side there
like that.

And he went like that. And that red
handkerchief turned into yellow.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Now then, push the bow down, see? So, I
went round the scene, you see?

Now, yes!

Look at that!

Thank you.

And I bought it from him. I'm going to
show you now exactly how it's done. What

you need is two handkerchiefs.

One red and one yellow.

See?

Incidentally, when I finish this trick,
I don't want any applause at all.

Not me, none whatsoever.

I want everybody to stand up and sing
for he's a jolly good fella.

You see me pick that up?

I'm not afraid of work.

Now, you place the yellow handkerchief
in your hand first.

But you don't let anyone see you do
this.

You do this quietly, secretly, under the
bed.

You push it in there like that, you see?
You push it in there like that.

Like that, see?

And you keep it there.

Then, you get the red one, and you place
on top the yellow one.

But you must keep this hand closed,
otherwise you'll see the yellow

handkerchief. Keep this hand closed all
the time.

Now here comes the simple part of the
trick. You put the red one now on top of

the yellow one, which you know is
already there.

Here's a little tip. Don't do this look.
Don't show a bit of red like that and a

bit of yellow like that. Don't do that.

Because if you do that, you give the
game away. They know then you've got two

handkerchiefs. So make sure you put the
red one well down in the hand first.

Now I want you to pay a lot of attention
to this last bit here.

Because later on, I shall ask questions.

So I'll give out if you're going to sit
up there and watch this.

Just like that, see. But keep it closed,
because otherwise this time they'll see

the red one. Keep it closed all the
time.

Thank you.

A bit of ventriloquism now.

Keep your eyes on the lips all the time.

On the lips.

Are you in there?

Yes, I am.

There you are. There you are. There you
are.

There you are. There you are. There you
are. There you are. There you are. There

you are.

There you are.

There you are. There you are.

There you are. There you are.

That's not my case.

All right, put this down.

Thank you.

woof woof like that and this one woof up
there like that woof woof and woof like

that

Shall I do it?

And break my neck?

Alright,

I'll do it. You forced me. I'll do it.

Back in Britain, Tommy's work in
television in the 60s brought him a

of fans.

One was Sir Trevor MacDonald, who fell
in love with Cooper's comedy on arriving

in London from the Caribbean.

Have I got time for more?

It was the best of comedy.

The nature of his particular bumbling in
his delivery and the way he did these

things. I don't think anybody else did
anything like that. I think he'll... be

always remembered at the top of the
tree.

Trevor is watching a rare Tommy guest
spot on a Bruce Forsyth show, unseen on

television since 1966.

And unusually for Cooper, it's a piece
of mainly spoken comedy.

Enjoying yourselves?

I put a stop to that.

See, I can always tell whether an
audience is going to be good or bad.

Good night.

I tell you what I've come on for
tonight, really, is to talk about

I'm going to test your memory.

That's what I'm going to do.

Really. Now, listen. This is very, very
to test your memories. Now, see if you

can remember who said this. Now, watch
this very, very closely.

The owl and the pussycat went to sea in
a beautiful pale green boat.

Now, who said that?

Anyone remember who said that? You can't
remember because you've got bad

memories. That's why.

That's right.

Nobody can tell me who said it.

All right, I'll tell it. It was me. I
just said it.

Now, I'll tell you what I'll do.

I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll give
you another test. Another test for

Two tubes here, you see.

Here's the glass of milk.

None under there, one under there. Now
then, which one, which tube has the

of milk?

Now, I know what you're going to say.
You're going to say this one, aren't

That's the one you're going to say,
isn't it? But watch, because you find

right. Now,

prove your memory is improving all the
time, you see.

See, I can remember all these things
because I have such a wonderful memory.

No, really, I can remember anything
because I bought this memory board.

Now, once you've studied this memory
book, you'll never forget a thing.

Where did I put it?

I know what's in it. It's all right.
It's a good book.

I mean, once you've studied this memory,
it's wonderful. It really is. I mean,

in memory, you've got to have faith.

As long as you've got faith in it, it's
all right. It's like the faith healer.

He said to this man, he said, how's your
brother?

And this man said, he said, he's ill.
And the faith healer said, no, he said,

he's not ill.

He said, he only thinks he's ill. He
said, no, he's ill. And the faith healer

said, no, he only thinks he's ill.

So two weeks later, he met him again. He
said, how's your brother? He said, he

thinks he's dead.

See that? I got that medal from memory.

I forgot what I got this one.

You know, reading this book, it takes me
back years and years, but I can

remember. I remember once a man had a
dog, and he treated this dog very badly.

Very badly. He said he was going to give
him anything to eat and no water.

And yet this fateful dog is to come
towards him and wag his tail like that,

slowly towards him.

Like that.

That's a fateful dog for you, isn't it?

One day, this man went away. What was
that? One day...

This man went away for about four
months, and he didn't give this dog any

or food or nothing.

And when he came back, there was this
faithful dog wagging his tail like that.

And he came slowly towards his master,
and he jumped on him, and he ripped him

to pieces.

That's only because of memory, you see.
That's all it is.

You see, memory really is like swimming
or riding a bike. Once you've mastered

it, you'll never forget it.

Never. I remember when I was eight years
old, I was given a bicycle as a

present. I'm going along on this bike,
you see, and I knocked an old lady down,

about 80.

Knocked her flat, she didn't like it.

And she got up and she said to me, can't
you ring your bell?

I said, I can ring the bell, but I can't
ride the bike.

And when I got up, I remember this, when
I got up, my arm was like that.

I remember it, I remember it, it was
like that.

And it didn't look right to me. It
didn't look right.

See?

So they took me to the hospital. The
doctor looked at me. He said, you've

your arm. I said, what? He said, you've
broken your arm.

I said, what is medley? Can I play the
piano?

He said, yes.

I said, that's funny. I couldn't play it
before.

You see, it's all up here in the memory
box. Remember, always up here in the

memory box.

And I can't remember a thing without
this.

What's that?

Oh, yes, I remember.

You see?

If a man wants a drink, you know, he
knows how, he remembers how to lift the

glass to his lips like that.

Doesn't he?

But if you forget, he's in a shocker
state.

Terrible state. I give you my impression
of a man who's lost his memory.

Right, well, I always say this. All's
well that ends well.

Who said that?

Who said that?

It was me again. You're right, it was me
again.

Here we come to the last trick. Here we
go, look.

Mr. Pop, here's the glass of milk. I'll
cover it with a tube there.

Right? Now then, which one has the glass
of milk under?

You've got to say this one again, aren't
you? We're watching very closely. See,

because you're wrong. Neither.

See? Thank you very much.

Wonderful.

Thank you.

I have a wonderful memory, but I'm
blinking off with three. Good night.

Thank you.

You look at that and you think, this is
all made up.

It's all spontaneous.

He just, you know, can't think of it.

All these lines are remembered, and the
order in which all those jokes came, you

know, and to be able to do it as though
it's all off the cuff, you know, I'm

just making this up as I go along.

In fact, it's all carefully, carefully
studied. All that is planned. It's a

serious business.

It's quite extraordinary how this
happens.

Thank you very much. I'd like that in
there. Blow, and it's gone.

Coming up, a classic Cooper performance
seen in full on British television for

the very first time.

ITC, show number one, Spotlight.

ITC Entertainment was a British company
run by TV mogul Lou Grade, which

produced many programs for American
television.

One was a variety series called
Spotlight, made in Britain for America's

network. And unlike British shows of the
time, Spotlight was produced in color.

In 1967, Tommy received a major career
opportunity when he was booked as one of

the headline stars.

a chance to be seen by a vast US
primetime audience.

Tonight, presenting Tommy Cooper!

What we're getting in this routine is
just the best of the best. It's just

Tommy's greatest hits.

Tried and tested stuff, stuff he knows
is going to go well, stuff that he's

really, really comfortable with, and
it's just a joy to watch.

Thank you, good evening.

Now, you've all no doubt seen that
wonderful trick I saw on the lady in

You have?

What the heck with it?

My favourite ever Tommy Cooper trick
happens to be in this performance. Just

watch when the cabinet rolls on.

He gets his first laugh because it bumps
into him.

Then he proves that the cabinet's solid
and empty by banging on the side. Hurts

his hand.

Another laugh.

Steps inside the cabinet, draws the
curtains.

Oh, it's dark in there.

Oof, it's dark in there. I mean, it's
just so silly.

He's getting these laughs from what
seems like nothing but this is real

technique. You're watching a master at
work here.

When he does the jug on the hand gag, he
can't get the jug off his hand and he

breaks it with a mallet.

Later on in the act, I think when he's
doing the clock routine...

There's a close -up and you can see he's
cut himself.

So he's bleeding.

And then later in the act, he wipes his
hand with a handkerchief.

He realised he's done it. I mean, it's
pre -recorded. He could have stopped the

act at that point. Doesn't want to break
the momentum.

Keeps going on with it. I mean, what a
professional.

This American TV opportunity has such
value, he just wants to really smash it

out of the park.

Although many of the elements may be
familiar, this Cooper performance in

has never aired in full in Britain
before.

So here it is, as originally seen by
American viewers on Tuesday, August

1967.

Plays it like that, go like that, in
there, blow, and it's gone like that.

it makes its way...

Thank you.

I'll make some way into the tin here.

Isn't it hot?

It is hot, isn't it?

It's the heat that does it.

I was sunbathing this morning, and I was
lying in the park, and a little boy

crept across to me, and he poured
something all over my back.

He said, this will make you brown. I
said, what is it? He said, gravy.

Egg, bag, bag, egg. Egg, bag, bag, egg,
bag, egg, bag, egg.

I appreciate it. Watch where we... Look,
here we go. Look, in there like that,

see?

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha,
ha, ha, ha, ha.

Hey, no, no, no.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

Hey, ooh, hey.

Hey, how's that?

Yeah!

Thank you.

Ha,

ha, ha.

Ha, ha, ha.

gentlemen, I'd like to do something now.
I'd like to give you a demonstration of

human endurance.

Now, I mean, I'm the only one doing this
trick today.

I mean, let's say all the famous
magicians are dead.

I mean, Hugh Dean is dead.

Jasper Matthews is dead.

I don't feel so good myself.

Now, this box, this box is completely
airtight.

With that lid down there like that, it's
like really being buried alive.

But tonight, my assistant, thank you.

Thank you very much.

My assistant here will endeavor to stay
in that box for eight minutes. Here we

go. In you get them. In you get them.

Inside. Good luck.

There we are.

Completely airtight.

Yes, fine, thanks.

Eight minutes. Now, here's a trick.
Watch very, very closely. These rings

drop apart in front of your very eyes.

They'll look straight, and they'll drop
all over the place.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

Eh? You can do it. You have a go at it,
then.

Here's a trick with a piece of rope.
Watch very, very closely.

Get a pair of... What's all going on?

You get a piece of rope, you cut the
rope in half, there's one, two, three

pieces of rope, I place it in my hand,
squeeze, and now we have one long single

piece of rope.

I'm a liar.

Clock.

Empty.

What I'm going to do is this. Here's the
clock, sunny clock.

I'd come in there like that, close the
box, and the clock would disappear from

there. I'd make his way into the box
here.

Yes, he's here.

Yes,

he's here.

He's here in the box. Now, the hardest
part would be to make him go back again.

Just a bit of a loose department.

I shall now produce, from simply vase or
vase, vase or vase, a bouquet of

flowers.

inside here.

Never been done before.

Airtight box.

In the same year as American viewers
were enjoying Tommy's work in colour,

British viewers were settling down to
his new series, Life With Cooper.

In one recently discovered sketch, Tommy
shared the screen with a rising star

actress.

I've always loved Eccentric.

I think he was probably my absolute
favourite.

Hey,

aren't you Sheila Hancock?

Yeah, that's right.

Working with him, I remember being quite
nervous. He didn't like the script.

Things were wrong with it.

He said, come round to my house. Come
round to my house. I thought, I hope

is going to be all right.

What are you doing down there?

I've got my head stuck in the railing.

Anyway,

I did. I went round to his house in
Chiswick. The first vision of him was

feet. He had the biggest feet of...

anybody i've ever seen in my life i
remember finding it difficult not to

looking at his feet thank you very much
no no can't you pull me from behind he

took me into this room and it was a desk
a huge sort of bureau thing with jokes

filed so there were mother -in -law
jokes and falling over jokes and

it was just unbelievable we won't do
that when you do this i'll do that

and it dropped on the pavement and it
bounced through the railing. I was just

trying to reach it. Look, there it is.
Oh, I'll get it for you. Will you? Yes.

No,

it's a bit further than that.

No, a couple of inches more. Go on, a
little bit. And he came up with all

jokes and inserted them in the script.

Look, I'll take your weight like that.
Oh!

Oh, no.

Oh, dear.

What shall we do now?

Well, if you've got another pencil, we
can finish my crossword.

God alone knows what the writer thought,
because I went back and did what Tommy

told me. He took over.

Think of a number.

Yes. Between one and ten. Yes. Are we
done there? Yes.

Right, double it. Yes.

Take away the first note we thought of.
Yes. Close your eyes. Yes.

Darken it.

But I love the idea of this crazy,
disorganised man.

Bill, it was very nice meeting you. Same
here. Yes.

Actually underneath being incredibly
organised with his joke files.

Yes. Bye -bye. Bye.

Coming up, Tommy at the very peak of his
stardom with a performance unseen in

over five decades.

Two decades of huge success in
television made Tommy a household name

Britain. By the mid -70s, he was the
highest -earning entertainer in the

country. Tommy Cooper's work ethic was
phenomenal, prodigious. His diary was

never empty.

He just loved it so, so much.

He was in big demand as a live
performer, his schedule filling up

advance with performance dates in
theatres, cabaret venues and social

across the land.

In 1975 -76, I was playing in a
nightclub in Leicester.

I was in the house band.

I was the bass player for a living. I
was pretty bored most of the time, you

know?

So I would take a book on stage and I'd
have my music on the stand and I'd have

my book.

We would have a different star
attraction every week.

And one week, it was Tommy Cooper.

Tommy Cooper!

And I remember on the Sunday night we
played him on. I was really quite

forward to seeing him. Tommy didn't
sing, so we didn't play during his act.

And then I was reading a particularly
good book, so I went back to reading it.

And I looked at him a few times during
his act. I knew I was going to see it

another seven times.

You know, I missed my cat nap today. I
slept right through it.

And we played him off.

After the show, someone came into the
bathroom and said, Tommy wants the whole

band in his dressing room now.

So we all had to go into his dressing
room and we all had to stand in a line

he would say, if you were playing in Las
Vegas behind a comedian,

it would say in your contract, and at
this point he got to me and he leaned

right over me and he said, that you
would laugh at every joke.

And I was like, and he said, You were
reading a book.

He said, it'll be a big trouble if I see
you reading a book again.

I want you to laugh at every joke.

So the next night, you know, his opening
gag was he'd come on with a

brass tap on the end of a string and
he'd take it up and down and he'd go,

dancing, right?

He did, I remember he walked over and he
did it and he looked straight at me and

I went, ha, ha, ha.

Every joke for the next six nights, he
would look at me after it and I would

laugh.

Live performances and venues of all
kinds and hit TV shows marked the 70s

the peak of Tommy's career.

In 1977, the nation celebrated the
Silver Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth's

century on the throne.

We put out the bunting and gathered for
street parties.

And at the London Palladium, the Queen
attended a special Royal Gala show.

A glossy spectacular televised in both
Britain and America.

Hosted by Bob Hope, one of the star
attractions was Tommy Cooper.

Tommy's appearance at the Jubilee
performance in 1977.

Thank you.

An amazing piece of television.

Particularly when you consider the
number of people who would have been

that. I got struck by lightning.

Thank you, boys. Thank you.

Everybody in the audience would have
been familiar with Tommy Cooper because

was top of his game and he would have
been on television regularly.

Back in the 70s, if you were on
television regularly, you were properly

because the viewing numbers in those
days were huge.

In fact, the show was watched by almost
20 million viewers in Britain alone,

perhaps the biggest audience of Tommy's
entire career.

He plays with the audience beautifully.

The thing that Tommy Cooper could do is
disappear from the stage and still hold

an audience's attention.

The other person.

And that takes an enormous amount of
bravery to do that.

He goes off the wings almost at the
start of the sketch to grab various

from people behind there and has full
conversations with them.

This was his trademark thing. He could
do this.

So the audience just lap it up. They are
completely in his hands.

Very nice. Still here, eh?

Put the kettle on, will you?

Oh, you've got it on.

Still here.

Tommy's performance hasn't been seen in
its entirety since its original airing

in 1977.

It shows him working at his most
confident best.

He is very clearly enjoying his
performance.

He's completely in control.

The thing that I enjoyed so much was his
cheeky laying down of the sword in

front of the box where the Queen would
have been.

He didn't have to say anything.

He just looked at the sword and then
looked up and then looked at the

and went... Well, you never know, do
you?

Never know, she might.

Which you might not, but you might. You
never know, you see.

Which is... It's perfect.

It takes courage, really, to include the
Queen in your material.

I went to a window shop that day. I
bought four windows.

I went across the barber shop. I said,
how much a haircut? He said, 76.

I said, how much a shave? He said, two
barbers. I said, shave my head.

He said to me, he said to me, I can
finish shaving you. What do you want on

face?

I said, leave the notes.

And he was the slowest. He was slow.

He looked at me, he said, do you know
your hair's turning grey?

I said, we'll get a move on.

And here we have a skimming rope, so
we'll skip that part.

I've got some bottles of wine here,
eight bottles of wine.

Definitely is Beaujolais.

Travel well.

You're going to drink it before you
travel.

Now this bottle costs £1 ,000 a bottle.

The wine costs nothing.

I drink the rest later.

I'm

back

to horse today, 20 to 1. Can we 20 past
4?

And the jockey kept hitting him with a
whip like that.

Not like that, not like that.

And the horse said, what are you doing
that for?

There's nobody behind us.

Thank you.

No trapdoors.

Aloha.

Where'd you get this?

This triumphant night would be the last
time British viewers would see Tommy

perform the trick of producing props
from between his legs.

When he began to perform it again on
live television seven years later, it

routine he would tragically never
complete.

Coming up,

a performance unseen on network
television, and Tommy's tour de force

night when comedy...

turned to tragedy.

Tommy Cooper was for decades one of the
biggest names in entertainment but was

happy to appear occasionally on regional
television to promote his live dates.

His guest spot on this local show for
London viewers has never been seen by a

national audience, until now.

The Six O 'Clock Show was a magazine
show that went out live on London

television on Friday night, directly
after the Six O 'Clock News.

And it was hosted by Michael Aspel, and
I was his sidekick.

Now, hello to Janet. Janet, your story
on the pigeons last week brought a few

comments, didn't it? Yes, one man wrote
in and said, Janet St. Porter brings

sex. into everything, even pigeons. It
was a very lively show. There were lots

of silly items in it. There were some
serious items. The show attracted

actors, entertainers, and, of course, we
got Tommy Cooper.

The man who knows that life can play a
magician's dirty trick, Tommy Cooper.

Tommy, welcome to the show.

Well, he walked on with a suitcase,
which we hadn't rehearsed and didn't

about. Thank you.

Have I got time for more?

Good start. Oh, by the way, I'd like you
to see that this is a custom -made case

for taking through the customs.

And when they asked me, what have you
got in your case?

I said, see for yourself.

You care to take a seat?

The first thing he attempted to do,
which we had no idea was coming, was

handkerchief. So he took Michael's
handkerchief... Oh, thank you.

And it took ages to even set fire to the
ruddy thing.

Because his hands were shaking so much
and he couldn't line up the flame and

hang, and we were just like waffling,
filling in.

Do you want to light it? No, I don't. Do
you want to light it? No,

I'll light it for you.

What do you mean light it for you? I
want to be his assistant.

So it's burning nicely.

This is remarkable.

Is he laughing?

Having failed at the hangsy trick, then
he moved on to the bits of string.

So, again, the trick involved taking a
piece of string and cutting it.

And then it's all supposed to come back
together at the end.

But what he did was take a piece of
string and he's putting it in and out.

the audience adored it.

The more he messed it up, the more they
laughed. He could have gone on for 20

minutes with that bit of string and
looking confused and baffled as if the

string had a life of its own.

You've got to do this afterwards.

There's no chance of me doing this.

With Tommy Cooper, he's not going to
have a punchline.

You're not sure when anything even
starts or ends. It was all about the

performance.

That's it.

It's the whole experience. To use a very
modern word, it was an experience.

It was amazing. It was like a tour de
force. It was a legend.

Coming up, unseen since 1984, Tommy's
final performance.

And his incredible legacy of laughter.

You can practice comedy as much as you
like, but you'll never get that. That's

God given.

In the spring of 1984, Tommy was booked
for ITV's Sunday night variety show,

Live from Her Majesty's, staged at the
top London theatre and hosted by Jimmy

Tarbert. It was a show artists clamoured
to appear on, the live transmission

bringing a unique energy to the
production.

Thank you kindly, I thank you. From
there, welcome to Live from Her

and a hello to you all at home.

15th of April.

1984. The day had gone very, very well,
very smoothly in the morning. The gags

had come together beautifully.

Jimmy was very happy with his opening
spot.

And I remember Tommy, during a break in
the afternoon rehearsal, was walking on

stage.

And I remember so well, Jimmy turned to
him and put his arms out in supplication

and said, homage to the king.

There he is.

Oh, hello, son.

Oh, Tom.

Well, thrilled.

Well, if you were to ask a hundred
comedians who their favorite comedian

we'd all say the one and only Tommy
Cooper!

Then he introduced me to Tony.

And then I booed him off.

And his opening gag.

They're hysterical right away.

Do you believe in real carnage?

I don't know, sometimes I'm thinking,
bait, hold and come back.

I don't really.

Because I've had tunes through my head
all day.

I've had tunes running through my head
while they bang their off again.

You know, if my memory's going, my
memory's getting very bad.

I was shamed this morning and I cut
myself and I forgot to bleed.

Tony, it was magnificent. We were in the
wings, holding each other up with

laughter. He was so, so funny.

This is not mine. Follow this.

Hello, everybody.

How do you do? You and you and you and
you.

She said, I've got water in the
carburettor. I said, where's the car?

in the room.

He's funny, that Jimmy.

Jimmy's very funny.

Do you think he's funny?

Very funny.

And some people say to me, if someone's
funny, it doesn't make them mad, right?

It doesn't make you mad.

I say, what's going to make me mad?

So I was out at this airport.

And a man said to me, would you like to
share a text with me? I said, yes.

He said, you take the wheels, I'll take
the engine.

hold this dice for me. Everybody here
can hold this dice.

Would you hold this dice for me, sir?

Now, what I've got here is diamond,
spade, heart, and club.

Now, you have a free choice of any of
these four cards.

The heart, the spade, the club. Right, a
bunch of cards.

Now, would you spin the dice once again,
sir?

And add the top and the bottom of the
dice together, or don't tell me.

Have you done that? Yes.

Now here's the tricky part.

Would you half that number to yourself
as this here will be your children's

card?

What does it do?

3 .5.

Someone said, that's a square pig.

A pig should look round, so I make a
look round.

How's that?

Because this live dove is an empty box
here like so.

And that live dove will disappear from
the box like a flash of light.

Tommy was working in front of the
curtains. The curtains were drawn.

There was a feeling that he was slightly
two beats off the rhythm, maybe a

little bit wet under the nose, but he
was still being hilarious.

and I'm waiting behind the curtain to
come on with my gag, and it's pulling a

ladder between his legs, and it's me
pushing at the back.

Well, yeah, I'm all for that. I just
want to do a gag with him.

Oh, who did it?

Thank you.

And one of the dancers, young lady,
comes and puts a cloak round him.

Thank you.

Tommy then swayed and then very
leisurely, it seemed, leant backwards

and fell to the floor. And I remember we
were all laughing.

He went down on his haunches. This is me
on the floor. That part of him was up.

And then there was a quiet moment. And
then there was a hideous snore.

You know, and I said to David Bell, one
of the great producers, this isn't it.

No, he said, you know how he is, he's
put this in.

And he didn't do things that weren't
rehearsed.

And he looked at me and I said, no, he
said, we've got four minutes to do yet.

said, this is not him.

I said, I'm telling you, I said, I'm
going on, David. This is live.

David Bell, the producer standing on the
opposite wing, said to Tommy Cooper Jr.

Is this in the act? Is this right? And
Tommy Junior said, no, my dad's got a

back. He could never get up from this.

The audience in the theatre had no idea
that anything was wrong. It was after

what seemed like a small eternity that
the show was thrown to commercial break.

And they put the curtain around.

Someone pulls Tommy.

through the curtains fully, so he's now
no longer in view.

And they had a trolley, and the
stretcher was on it. He was a big man,

took four men. They got him on there.

St John's ambulance guys were there
doing a great job trying, but he was

there behind the curtain.

Which I must go on.

Jimmy went out.

Yes, indeed, and welcome back to Live,
for my majesty.

They were two and a bit minutes late on
the show.

Jimmy, at some point, was going to have
to spread those two minutes to make the

duration. Well, there'll be an extra
bottle of champagne in the dressing room

for that two minutes. Right, now, ladies
and gentlemen... There's never any

sense that he's aware that his comedy
hero and one of his best friends in show

business is still lying behind the
curtain, desperately ill.

The ambulance had arrived and they took
him to the hospital.

Peter Pritchard, Jimmy Tarbuck's agent,
said that Tommy was definitely alive

when he left the building.

The end of the show, and it was the walk
down, but no Tommy.

You've been a superb audience.

I hope you've all enjoyed it at home.
We've had a great time here. After the

show came off air to thunderous
applause...

There was a strange air. We knew that
something significant had happened, but

weren't terribly sure what it was.

It was in the dressing room.

My manager, Peter, came in, Peter
Pritchard.

He said, he's died.

He's gone.

I said, oh, he said, the press want to
speak to you and the TV want you.

I said, well, I can speak about it.

I said, I'll speak with honour.

Tributes have continued this morning for
comedian Tommy Cooper, who died last

night after collapsing on stage during a
live television show.

His colleagues said he was Britain's
funniest man and the joker who always

them laugh.

He was one of the great comedy geniuses
this country's ever had. For many, many,

many, many years, he's just brought
laughter to people all of his life.

I think the way he died was perfect,
really. I think he was happy on the

so he died in his happy place.

People refer to him as the comedian's
comedian, and I don't think there's any

greater praise than that, to be so
widely respected by your peers.

There's a lot of comics you can kind of
categorise, gag comics, physical comics.

He was his own comic.

You can practise comedy as much as you
like, but you'll never get that.

That's God -given.

Tommy's place in British comedy is
undeniable. I mean, 40 years after his

we're still talking about him, we still
love his performances. I think that sort

of says everything.

Some people achieve a status in which
they make us believe that they're part

the furniture who will always be there.

And Tommy Cooper, we'll always remember
him for the absolutely brilliant man he

was. You know, he's eternal.

Take a trip down memory lane with the
taste sensations of yesteryear. Savour

sweets and treats we loved and lost.
Brand new Thursday at nine.

Next night, it's not like this, it's
just like that. We continue our Tommy

Cooper celebration with a Christmas
special.